How
to Groom a Scottish Terrier For ACADEMIC FAIR USE
PURPOSES ONLY Tools You Are Going
to Need Animal Clippers Prepare
Your Grooming Area Everyone develops a
style of their own and along with that, preferences for grooming
tools. There are no right and wrong tools - whatever works for
you is what's right! Here are some of my favorite tools, most of
which can be purchased through Cherrybrook, Inc. ( http://www.cherrybrook.com
or 1-800-524-0820 ) or UPCO ( http://www.upco.com
or 1-800-254-8726 ). Call
them for free catalogs, they are much less expensive than buying
grooming supplies locally. Clip in the direction of
hair growth, using thinning shears to tidy the line between neck and
shoulders. DON'T STOP AT THE SHOULDERS! (HEAD)
Edited. Please see the Original site for Formatting.
Source: Morris, Susan. "Grooming Your Pet Scottish Terrier."
Original Website: Stornoway Scottish Terriers. Accessed:
09Apr03.
http://www.stornowayscots.com/groom.htm
"...
Grooming
Your Pet Scottish Terrier
By
Susan Morris
Stornoway Scottish Terriers
Bristle
Brush
#10
Blade
Nail
Clippers
Blade
Wash
Clipper
Oil
Clipper
Cool/Lube
Shampoo
Clotting
Powder
Pin
Brush
Metal
Comb
Straight
edge scissors
Thinning
Shears (44 tooth, single sided)
Gather your grooming tools in an area with good lighting. Always
groom on an elevated surface such as a table or counter that is at a
comfortable height for you and is steady and secure for your
Scot. A grooming noose is very helpful, to leave both your hands
free and to keep Scot still! I find it is best to have a private
space in which to groom. You'll both have a much easier time if
you can concentrate undistracted.
Let's Get Started - The Basics
Begin your grooming session by thoroughly brushing your Scot with the
pin brush, be sure to brush behind the elbows; between the hind legs;
furnishings under the tummy - these are usually the most troublesome
spots if neglected. Brush eyebrows and beard forward. When
you have brushed his coat thoroughly, go over him with the comb.
Be relentless, picking out every single tangle/mat in his coat with the
comb. His coat and furnishings will lie nicely and you will
remove dead, shedding hairs - encouraging new and dense growth at all
times.
Your Scot should be completely brushed and combed in this manner once a
week. Take this opportunity to check for lumps, cuts, scrapes,
swellings, discharges, weight loss or gain, lameness, etc.
It is very important to completely brush and comb your Scot before he
is bathed or clippered. If you bathe a tangled dog, it only gets
worse and you'll never get the tangles out after they are wet!
Trimming
Nails
With your nail clippers trim his nails, paying close attention to the
dewclaws on the front feet. If neglected, in time these could
grow in a circle, poking into the flesh of his paw, causing him much
pain. An easy guide to nail trimming is to cut the excess nail
where it forms a hook, see diagram. Trim the nails regularly to
keep them short, preventing foot problems. Follow up with the
nail file to smooth any rough edges.
If you happen to snip a nail too short dab on a bit of clotting powder
to stop the bleeding. If you don't have that, flour will work in
a pinch, though not as quickly.
Splish
Splash, I Was Takin' A Bath...
If your Scot is dirty, now is the time to bathe him - BEFORE you clip
his coat. If you attempt to clipper a dirty dog you will be very
frustrated as you work and disappointed with the results.
Clippers cannot slide through dirty hair smoothly and will become dull
very quickly.
A sprayer attachment is a luxury at bath time. They are
inexpensive and sure save your back! Use a shampoo that lathers
well and rinses away easily. I prefer a tearless formula so that
I can confidently wash their forehead and beard thoroughly.
Lather every part, beard too! Rinse thoroughly, paying special
attention to tummy and between the legs. Lather and rinse again,
if necessary.
Towel dry as best you can. Finish drying with a blow dryer.
Brush against the grain as you blow dry until he is almost dry.
Finish up by brushing the coat with the grain, the furnishings down and
his beard and eyebrows forward toward his nose as you completely dry
him. He is going to look pretty nice at this point, even if his
coat is long. You are now ready to go on to the actual
trimming...
A Note About Clippers, Blades, Brushes &
Combs
To do a good job of trimming your Scot you must have a high quality
clipper made for trimming dogs. A human clipper will cause you
nothing but frustration and will result in a very poor grooming
job. Either an Oster A-5 or Andis AG are good clippers and will
last a lifetime with proper maintenance. I prefer the Andis AG -
it is quieter, does not blow hair into eyes, it is smaller and fits my
hand better.
Blades come in a wide variety of lengths. Remember, the smaller
the number, the longer it leaves the hair. For instance, a #5
blade leaves hair about 1/4" long; a #10 blade leaves hair about 1/16"
long; and a #40 is considered a surgical blade, leaving hair just
1/125" long.
IMPORTANT: When you are trimming in sensitive areas...such as
ears, tummy, penis, anus, etc. always use a #10 or closer blade.
This way you will not usually be able to nick or cut the skin.
See for yourself, run the blade against the palm of your hand, you'll
see that the teeth of the blade are close enough not to allow a nipple
or fold of skin to get between.
If you can only afford one blade right now, get a #10. If you can
have two blades, I would also suggest you also get a #8-1/2, which is
great for clippering in the winter months when your dog might
appreciate a bit longer coat for extra warmth.
As your budget allows and as your technique improves, you might want to
add a few other blades for extra touches. A #30 is wonderful for
ears - a closer, neater trim there. You might want to experiment
with the #5 or #7 plucking blades which gives a textured, rougher clip,
designed to resemble a terrier's stripped coat. I never use the
plucking blades because I don't like the rough, uneven result. I
prefer a slick sleek look that the #10 gives.
The
goal of grooming your Scot is to accentuate the overall look of
sturdiness, compactness and squareness that sets this breed apart from
all others. You should look at as many pictures of show trimmed
Scotties as you can, setting that unique outline in your mind's
eye. Then, take closer looks at the "parts" of those pictured
dogs. Notice the way their faces are groomed, their ears, their
tails, their feet, etc.
In all
you do on the grooming table, you'll be striving for a compact
look to the body and a "brick" shape to the head as viewed from the
front. (diagrams 3 & 4). Visualizing and trimming all
stray hairs outside this imaginary box will be the key to achieving the
correct look. Strive for an overall picture...no abrupt lines, no
clipper marks, long hair must blend into short hair, etc.
..."
Okay, here we
go. Attach the #10 blade to your clippers. In
the direction of hair growth, begin clipping the head:
1) from above the
eyebrows to just in front of the ears (leaving a
fringe of hair here),
2) from outer corner
of eye to the side of the neck where the hair
forms a cowlick,
3) from mole under the
chin to the breastbone, forming a "necklace"
(see diagrams 1 & 3.)
4) from the base of
the ears to the tips.
Keep the hair under
and around anus short, but be very careful in this
sensitive area. Using the #10 blade, clip in the direction of
growth down just to where the hair forms two cowlicks. (diagram
2) You may prefer to use thinning shears and/or scissors to tidy
this area. DO NOT use clippers up the back side of the tail. This
will be scissored later.
On males it's a good
idea to also rid the penis of excess hair.
Again, use the #10 blade. ALWAYS clip in the direction of hair
growth - from base (body) to tip of penis. Also clip his tummy
just in front of the penis about 3 inches.
Now you're ready to
clip the neck, shoulders, sides, back and
hips. Again, clip in the direction of hair growth at all
times. Don't push the clippers - let them do the work. Use short,
overlapping strokes. This will take practice. If you are
using the correct technique, you will not see any clipper marks in the
coat, it will be smooth as velvet. NOTE: you can use a #8
blade
for the body portion
if you prefer a longer coat length.
Clip from behind the
ears down the neck, along the backbone to the base
of the tail. DO NOT clip the tail. It will be scissored
later.
With overlapping
strokes, clip down the sides and over the shoulders to
the furnishing line. You will notice in Diagram 3 that the
furnishings line is not simply a straight line parallel to the ground,
but rather, it begins at the breastbone and tapers down around the
front of the shoulder, to the ELBOW (not ending at the shoulder), and
across the bottom of the ribs and up to the bend of the thigh, across
the thigh and around to meet the closely clipped area beneath the
tail.
IMPORTANT: What
will set your grooming apart from "the rest" is
following this pattern. Most groomers only clip to the point of
the shoulder instead of all the way to the elbows; only to the widest
part of the rib cage instead of further down the sides. They
leave a "hula skirt". Not only is this incorrect, but most
unattractive, as it makes the dog look long backed and fat at the same
time! The correct pattern most enhances the correct shape of a
well-bred Scot: deep chest, short back, sturdy legs, muscular
hindquarters, etc. Remember that the furnishings do not begin at
the shoulders or the widest part of the ribs (Diagram 3).
You don't want to see a definite change in hair length between short
clippered hair and long furnishings but instead, a blending of short
into long.
Pay close attention
that both sides of your Scot match! The lines
must be even on both sides. A mirror opposite your grooming table
is a great help.
Leave a full, thick
growth of hair on the front side of the tail - just
scissor to tidy up. Do scissor the back side closely, this helps
to keep the Scot looking short-backed and compact.
Ears
With the #10 blade (or #15)
begin clipping the back of the ears from
the base of the ear to the tip and 2/3 of the front of the ears
(Diagram 4). The fringes you left on the front of the ears will
become ear "tufts". At the inside corner the tufts should be
about 1/2 the length of the ear, gradually becoming shorter at the
outside edge. (Diagram 4) Thin with thinning shears if
necessary, striving for a balanced amount of hair - a fan shape always
inside the outline of the ear. You never want tufts of hair
jutting beyond the outside edge. Always work toward small neat
ears. I like to think of the tufts as little fans. They
eliminate a stark expression and are a distinctive feature of our
breed.
Next, with your straight
edged scissors carefully trim the outside
edges of the ears to make them look as neat and small as
possible. Trim the top 1/3 of the inside edge of the ear, not
cutting away any of the tuft (Diagram 4). Always trim from the
base of the ear to the tip, never pointing the scissors toward the
skull or eyes.
Remove any cut hairs that
may have fallen in the ear. Check for
dirt or signs of ear infection. Clean the ears with Oti-Clens on
a cotton pad or ball. Wipe the inside of the ear from base to tip
until the cotton comes clean.
Eyebrows
Properly groomed eyebrows do
much to give the Scot his distinctive
expression. They should resemble two triangles, the longest hair
at the inside corner of the eye approximately 1-1/2" long and tapering
to about 1/2" or less at the outside corner. Hair just under the
eye is cut with scissors held parallel to the side of the head, always
cutting AWAY from the eye.
Never clip under the eyes or
on the bridge of the nose with the
clippers, as a Poodle is done. Merely part the hair down the
center of the nose and comb into the beard. Remember, a properly
groomed Scot's head resembles a brick! I use my thinning shears
to trim the hair between the eyes, as it is too narrow for clippers.
Brush beard and eyebrows
forward in one motion; trim only straggly
hairs from beard. Encourage long, dense growth.
Finishing
Touches
Using the grooming surface
as a guide, trim around the bottom of the
feet to neaten their appearance. Pick each foot up and trim
excess hair from between the pads.
With your bristle brush,
give him a good "once over" to remove loose
hair. He should look great!
Parting
Thoughts
If you are a beginner these
instructions probably sound pretty
complicated. But believe me, grooming your Scot is not hard and I
guarantee you will do a better job than many grooming parlors. As
with anything else, all it takes is practice. You'll make
mistakes - but don't get discouraged, HAIR ALWAYS GROWS BACK!
Keep in mind that everyone
develops individual style. You will
probably modify these instructions to suit your own taste and
individual dog. THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT WAY TO GROOM A DOG.
These instructions are just one way to groom a Scottie. There are
as many different styles as their are groomers. That's the great
part about doing it yourself, you'll be free to do it your way, at your
own pace and as often as you like. You will see many different
styles of trims, so have fun experimenting with different looks, try
new things to accentuate your dog's strengths and camouflage his
faults. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!
GROOMING
DIAGRAMS
Front
Back
Head
Square
Clip
in the direction of hair growth from the back to the "cowlicks" under
the tail. Use thinning shears to tidy up any stray hairs.
Trim carefully around rectum. Scissor the tail closely on the back of
tail, in direction of hair growth.
Visualize
your Scot in a square. Encourage the growth of hair on the front of the
tail, but keep the hair short on the back of the tail. This aids
in the short-backed, square shape you are striving for. Trim the tail
to resemble an upside down carrot - thick at the base and tapering to a
point.
NEVER clipper the tail, avoid the "rat tail" look.
NEVER leave a "flag" on the tail.
Trim
any hair extending past the imaginary square. Notice the furnishings
line. Clipper all the way to the elbows, past the widest part of
the ribcage and to the widest part of the thigh.
..."
Profile
Front
Sitting
Held
Up
A First Puppy Cut